User Muse asks:
When I go into Control Panel, File Play Setup and go to Add a file, the file selection window defaults to My Documents instead of the MyHD work area. Is there a way I can make it default to the MyHD work area?

TPeterson replies:
There evidently is, but I'm not sure that you really want to go there, Muse. MyHD maintains two Registry keys that store the paths to the last places from which you opened a file (ctrl-O) or added a file to the file list. Unless these folders are inaccessible, they will be the default folder for the next similar operation. (If they are inaccessible, e.g. offline LAN folders, you'll find yourself at your "my documents" location) You could force those keys to have some other value by merging the appropriate .reg file prior to opening MyHD. The two keys are named "File_Open" and "Filelist_Path". Knock yerself out!

-- more discussion --

MyHD stores the most recently used path for ctrl-O and ConfigPanel->FilePlaySetup->AddItem at the following registry locations, respectively:

HKLM->Software->MyHD->FILE_OPEN
HKLM->Software->MyHD->FILELIST_PATH

If these locations are not accessible, either because the folder was deleted or because the folder is otherwise inaccessible, MyHD will default to My Documents. This is quite common behavior for many windows applications but may be undesirable for MyHD usage in terms of convenience.

Terry Peterson has offered to suggest to MIT that if the directory referenced by FILE_OPEN or FILELIST_PATH is inaccessible, the MyHD app should instead default to HD_DIR_NAME_FOR_RESCAP, which is the default directory used for captures, rather than My Documents.

"I agree that having the File Open dialog default to HD_DIR_NAME_FOR_RESCAP (i.e., the Capture Option Capture Directory) would make sense and is probably not a big deal. I'll suggest that for the 'next version'."

In the mean time you have 2 options to avoid this behavior:
1) don't delete the folder last referenced by ctrl-O or AddItem thus never triggering this behavior
2) run MyHD app using a batch file which resets FILE_OPEN and FILELIST_PATH to your desired path everytime the app starts up

I have two digital tuners in my apartment. One is a Samsung T-351 and the other is a MyHD MDP-100. Using a DB4 (antennasdirect) UHF antenna, I can pick up all stations using my Samsung, but I cannot pick them up on MyHD, not even if I manually tune to the proper UHF frequency using Virtual Channel mode.

I have a 130db 5-1000mhz Y splitter, one goes to the Samsung (6 foot cable), the other goes to MyHD (50 foot cable). I can see the channel on my HDTV, but I get nothing on the PC.

I have used a cheaper UHF antenna, one with a much smaller cable (which would pick up all stations except for Fox), but I can barely get ABC.
EDIT: EDIT: EDIT

Nevermind, for some reason a few channels dont tune in until I just let it sit there for a few minutes. I dont know why, but I can now pick up all the channels that my Samsung T-351 was able to pick up.

After spending 30 minutes getting the latest Adobe Acrobat, having to do manual associations for the aom update file, and then finally having to install koren fonts, I have the command line options for running MYHD. Posted below to save people the frustration I went through...

Let's say you watch Jeopordy every evening, but you don't like to suffer through the part where Alex interviews the guests. The key is to get MyHD recording before you walk into the room!

Here's instructions for how to have MyHD startup and tune to Jeopordy so you can stroll-in late, rewind, and then have the option of skipping anything you want.

First, set MyHD to use full timeshift. Next, get to the MyHD capture > add reservation panel (usually I would get there by just finding Jeopordy on the TitanTV grid and hitting the red meatball). Now, instead of clicking "ok", find where it has "Capture Mode" and switch that to "Watch".

Now, you can stroll-in 15 minutes late, but because you've got full timeshift, you simply back-up to the beginning and have the flexibility to skip stuff.

Question: I can't get DVI output from the daugthercard to produce a picture. What is wrong?

These are possibilities you should look at:
1) MyHD DVI output from the daughtercard only works if the configuration is set for RGB. It will not work with YPbPr.
2) MyHD DVI daughtercard only outputs video signals. It picks up the +5V from the loopback cable to your daughtercard. It is possible some switching devices (like a 4x1 HDMI/DVI switch) use +5V to detect active signal. They may think the DVI daughtercard is not sending signal. If you connect the loopback cable to the PC video card, that should allow your switch to detect active signal.
3) MyHD DVI passthrough likely does not support 1080p passthrough. Using 1080p through the loopback cable may produce noise in the picture.

Some cable systems are 860MHz but haven't been using the higher frequencies. More recently with the addition of digital simulcast and increasing # of HD channels, frequencies above RF125/801MHz are being used.

Check your local reception forum If the channels you cannot tune are RF Channels 126-135 (this is the physical RF channel which is not the same as the channel that shows up on the cable box) than the reason you cannot tune them is because the MyHD software has not been enabled to scan the higher frequencies even though the hardware is rumored to be capable.

Per Terry Peterson's response:
Channel rf125 is the current software limit for MyHD. I believe that the tuner is capable of tuning up to rf135, but heretofor there has been little reason to include that spectrum in channel scans. It seems that the time for a change may be about at hand....

UPDATE: Fixed in the latest 1.66.1 driver. Now the scans go up to 135/861MHz.

I've had this problem off and on since I've had the card and it's been something like 2 years: MyHD 120 with daughterboard

I'm multibooting and have 2 Windows 2000 SP4 installations. Presently, the overlay window in one Windows 2000 installation shows the video (e.g. live TV, timeshifting) and when I boot to the other Windows 2000 installation, I get a black OSD window. The settings in the MyHD Control Panel appear on close inspection to be identical. What could possibly be happening? I believe the installation is the same: MyHD_App_Drv_v1.66E.exe

Thanks for any help.

Edit: I think I may have found the answer. My video driver in the problem OS was set to output for Clone, not single display. Changing that has, for now, solved the problem.

Answer: When setting up a capture, one of the fields that is configured is what the size should be for the capture file. File systems before NTFS had a 2GB limit, while NTFS file systems have a 2TB limit. The MyHD manual says unlimited, but that is not true. Then again, 2TB is almost like it was unlimited, as it would take a long time to record a 2TB file. Of course, your main problem would be trying to find a 2TB drive, or 2TB Raid array, that didn't cost an arm-and-a-leg

The value that is selected, or entered into the Custom field is not the maximum size of the recording, but the maximum size of that segment of the recording. For example, if you set the file size to 2GB and the recording took 16GB, you would have 8 sequentially named segments, once the recording was finished.

But, most users do not want segments, as they are not exactly easy to work with. If you are using NTFS for your system's file system, you can set whatever value that you want, though MyHD will not let you enter more than 2TB It would be nice to configure MyHD to just keep going until the recording is finished. Unfortunately MyHD doesn't have that option in the current version of the software. Ok, you are thinking, entering zero should tell MyHD that there isn't a limit. Nice thought, but the programmers didn't think that, so it results in an error.

So, what to use as the value. Well, by default it has 2GB (2,000) as the initial value. Just add two zeros and make it 200GB. Odds are that you won't be recording long enough to fill 200GB in a single sitting. You might not even have that much in the way of space left on the drive you are recording. Don't care, it is just a simple value to get you through the recording.

Question: Can I use the MyHD to output NTSC signals to my old TV while I save up for a HDTV?

Answer: No. The MyHD hardware decoders can only output RGB or Component (YPbPr). The closest you can get to NTSC compatibility is 480i Component. However, some non-HD televisions can accept this signal.

Workarounds: You can use a scan converter or old-school external PC-TV converter. Buying a new scan converter is probably not cost-effective but a used one may be a good solution. You can also use an Analog Devices chip to convert 480i RGBHV directly to s-video, with the associated scaling and flicker filtering. This provides near-DVD quality from the MyHD. The evaluation card (AD723-EVAL $75) for the AD723 http://www.analog.com/en/prod/0,2877,AD723,00.html is known to work well with MyHD. It has a DB15 (VGA) input and s-video and composite outputs.

The alternative to a hardware solution is to use the S-Video or TV-out from your video card and use the overlay window. This is really not optimal at all. A software player set to full screen using the video card TV-out would be better. A software based card may be a better solution for you in this situation.

Notes: This applies equally to trying to output the best possible signal to a set-top DVD recorder or S-VHS deck. There are very few if any set-top DVD recorders that accept component video. However, DVD's can be generated in the PC by down-converting and authoring the recorded transport stream file to DVD format.

Mine works just fine. I have been running Win2003 server for over a year with a 120, and recently upgraded to the 130 with DVI daughter card. Even the remote control works perfectly with the standard software install procedure. I have seen no such thing as the install preventing you from running.

However, I am very particular about what I load onto my server. I always copy all ProgramFiles and Windows directories to another drive before loading any significant hardware or software. At the first sign of trouble, I return the product and recover (file copy under XP on another partition) from my backup version so that I dont have junk in the registry or elsewhere.

Now you have 1 vote for and 1 against. Any other experiences out there?

I have good news for those who have HTPCs that can't wake up from hibernation fast enough to start MyHD captures on time using the standard MyIRC wake-up interval of 1 minute.

Attached to this note is an updated MyIRC (version 1.2.1.1) that uses a Registry value to determine the wake-up advance interval. To use it, save the atttached zip without the ".txt" phony extension and extract the exe file, exit from the MyIRC tray app if it's running, then delete/rename MyIRC.exe in the Program Files MyHD folder, copy the attached MyIRC.exe into that folder, and then open it to restart the tray app. Finally add the following DWORD value to the MyHD Registry branch:

Is it possible to record the Directv non HD signals on a MYHD MDP-130? I have tried using the s-video and red/white composite RCA jack audio from an h10 to the MDP-130 s-video dongle and I am able to record video, but not audio. Any suggestions?

Briefly the solution was to go into Microsoft Volume Controls>Optons>Properties>Recording and make sure the box labeled WAVE OUT MIX was checked. I think this sets up Microsoft's recording API to record what is being played back. In Propeties>Playback I had all sliders muted except WAVE and the MASTER VOLUME Control.

That worked like a charm to cause a .avi file to appear in my Capture Directory.
I used Media Classic to playback, and I could see and hear the recorded analog NTSC channel. I am not saying that the video is HD quality. Obviously it is not. I was using the record capability for a channel instructing how to install a fan. It is hot here.

I'm not in the habit of recording analog with my MyHD 120 (I have a couple of SVHS VCR's that can handle that), but I did so with no problems on my first try. I set up the capture in MyHD for later in the day and when I looked later, I had a 4 GB AVI file for the 2 hours. I double clicked the file and it played fine in my Windows Media Classic (I guess it was this. I installed WMC in order to play .ram files a couple weeks ago), although it could have been Windows Media Player (not sure). There were some annoying audio glitches near the beginning (momentary dropouts), but all in all, it was watchable.

If your display is compatible to any of the resolutons above, try them to see what works (or works best) on your display. The video processor used in a digital display, be it HDTV or PC biased, will determine how it works with the MyHD.

Note, the highest vertical frequency the MyHD can output is at 1360x768. If this does not work on the Dell, then check if it can handle 1280x720 (Many source devices cannot output 800p)